Royal Exchange unveils two world premieres for 2027-28
Selina Cartmell, artistic director of the Royal Exchange in Manchester, has unveiled details of productions for 2027 and 2028. The programme includes two world premieres, plans to reopen the studio and a several-week closure of the main auditorium for refurbishment. The Guardian
In 2027, the theatre will stage the world premiere of The First Blue Thing by Simon Stephens. The play reimagines the Greek myth of Phaedra and is set in Stockport, Stephens's home town. Cartmell will direct it.
In 2028, the theatre will stage the world premiere of a stage adaptation of Munichs, the novel by David Peace. Ben Power adapted the novel for the stage. The story centres on the Munich air disaster, which killed 23 of the 44 passengers, including eight Manchester United players, three staff and eight journalists.
The 2027 season will also include a new production of Guys and Dolls. It will include A Midsummer Night's Dream with Beverley Knight. The theatre will also reopen its 100-seat studio space, which has been closed since the Covid pandemic. Talking to Boys by Abbi Greenland will be the first studio show there since March 2020.
The main 750-seat in-the-round space will close for several weeks for refurbishment. The work includes seats that have been in place for 30 years.
A previous Royal Exchange production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was cancelled in a dispute over a song referencing transgender rights and containing the phrase 'free Palestine'. An independent review into the cancellation did not find censorship but highlighted significant leadership failures. Cartmell took over at the theatre two years before October 2026, during a crisis in its 50-year history. The Guardian
